Daily Current Affairs

for app_20201213
Honduras ruling party accepts election defeat

Honduras’s leftist presidential candidate Xiomara Castro was headed for election victory thereby
making history as the first woman to govern the Central American nation — with her rival from the
ruling rightwing National Party conceding defeat. With just over 52% of votes counted, former First
Lady Ms. Castro, from the Liberty and Refoundation party, led with 53.49% compared with 33.98% for
her nearest challenger, the conservative Nasry Asfura.

WHO members agree to forge a pandemic accord

World Health Organization member states agreed to start building a new international accord on how
to handle future pandemics and ensure there can be no repeat of COVID-19. At a special meeting in
Geneva, the 194 WHO member states unanimously adopted a resolution launching the negotiating
and drafting process for a new international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and
response. The process will present its final outcome in 2024.
 Daily Current Affairs
EU plans €300 billion infra fundfor app_20201213
to counter China’s BRI

The European Commission announced a plan to mobilise €300 billion ($340 billion) in public and
private infrastructure investment around the world, a move seen as a response to China’s Belt and
Road strategy. The EU strategy is an offshoot of a plan by G7 countries to offer developing countries
an alternative to Belt and Road Initiative, presented in June at the industrial powers’ summit in
Cornwall.

China launched its global investment strategy known as Belt and Road, a flagship project of President
Xi Jinping, in 2013. Beijing has said it had invested $139.8 billion by 2020, including $22.5 billion last
year alone.

India joins G20’s Troika with Indonesia and Italy

India joined the G20 ‘Troika’. With this move, India has started the procedure for taking over the G20
presidency next year. Troika refers to the top grouping within the G20 that consists of the current,
previous and the incoming presidencies — Indonesia, Italy and India. India will assume the G20
presidency on December 1, 2022 from Indonesia, and will convene the G20 Leaders’ Summit for the
first time in India in 2023.

Italy hosted the G20 summit during October 30-31 that was attended by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi. Indonesia took over the G20 presidency on Wednesday. In the coming months, Indonesia will
hold rounds of discussion at various levels among the members of the G20 before convening the G20
Leaders’ Summit scheduled for October 30-31, 2022.
 Daily Current Affairs
forfundsapp_20201213
Taliban urge U.S. to release frozen

The Taliban renewed its call for the U.S. to release billions of dollars in frozen funds after two days of
talks in Doha as aid-dependent Afghanistan grapples with economic crisis. The Afghans also called for
an end to blacklists and sanctions in meetings led by Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and
Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan.

USA seized nearly $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank. The International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank also suspended activities in Afghanistan, withholding aid as well
as $340 million in new reserves.

Govt. notifies Farm Laws Repeal Act

The Centre notified a legislation to repeal the three agriculture laws against which thousands of
farmers have been protesting and nearly 700 have lost lives over a year now. The Farm Laws Repeal
Act, 2021 received the assent of the President of India on November 30, said a gazette notification
issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice. This law was passed by Parliament on November 29 without
debate in both houses, amid massive protests by Opposition MPs.
 Daily Current Affairs
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Railways Ministry scraps ‘private trains’app_20201213
tender

The Ministry of Railways has scrapped the tender inviting bids from private operators to run trains on
select routes following muted response, the Parliament was informed. The bids were invited to induct
151 trains over 12 clusters via public private partnership (PPP).

Cyberattacks hit 26,000 Indian sites in 10 months

Almost 26,000 Indian websites have been hacked into in the 10-month period ended October,
Parliament was informed. CERT-In has reported that a total number of 17,560, 24,768, 26,121 and
25,870 Indian websites were hacked during the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 (up to October),
respectively,” Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a written reply to
Lok Sabha. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is mandated to track and
monitor cybersecurity incidents in India.
 Daily Current Affairs
forto Afghan
India issued 200 e-Emergency Visas app_20201213
nationals

After the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in August, India issued 200 e-Emergency X-Miscellaneous
Visas to Afghan nationals who wanted to leave the country for a period of six months, the Government
informed the Rajya Sabha. Stay visa is granted to 4,557 Afghan nationals in India keeping in view the
present situation in that country. India also evacuated its embassy staff along with 112 Hindus and
Sikhs from Afghan on a special flight.

SC to hear appeal from Rajasthan govt. on Nahargarh wildlife sanctuary

The Supreme Court of India took on board an appeal filed by the Rajasthan Government against an
order of the National Green Tribunal to shut down commercial activities in the notified area of
Nahargarh wildlife fort and sanctuary from December 1. The court questioned the idea of having a
light and sound show in a protected forest area. National Green Tribunal had ordered the ceasing of
commercial activities in protected areas.
 Daily Current Affairs
forpassenger
Railways earned Rs. 15,434 cr. from app_20201213
service during April-Sept. 2021

The Indian Railways has earned revenue of Rs. 15,434.18 crore from passenger services in the first two
quarters of the current year as against Rs. 15,248.49 crore earned from these services in the entire
2020-21 amid curtailed services due to the pandemic. In the pre-pandemic year 2019-20, the revenue
generated from the sale of passenger tickets stood at Rs. 50,669.09 crore, Railway Minister Ashwini
Vaishnaw said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

SC pushes for council on judicial infrastructure

The Supreme Court of India orally said courts cannot wait on the whims and fancies of the
Government, but need a proper mechanism for funding the development of judicial infrastructure. A
Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud gave Additional Solicitor General K.M. Natraj three weeks to
consult with the Government and come back with a “line of thinking” on the issue. The court said the
Centre should meet with the finance and law Secretaries of the States to know the status of
disbursement of funds for the judiciary in each State.

Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana has been vocal in pushing the proposal for establishing the National
Judicial Infrastructure Corporation to uniformly improve judicial facilities and access to justice.
 Daily Current Affairs
for app_20201213
‘1,160 elephants killed in a decade’

A whopping 1,160 elephants were killed in the country for reasons other than natural causes in the 10
years up to December 31, 2020, according to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change (MoEFCC). While electrocution claimed the lives of 741 elephants, train hits led to the death
of 186 pachyderms, followed by poaching (169) and poisoning (64), a document accessed from the
Ministry through the Right to Information (RTI) Act revealed.

The Ministry said in the document that India had a total of 29,964 wild elephants as per an estimate
done in 2017. The southern region comprising Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andaman and Nicobar
Islands, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra accounted for the highest population — 14,612 elephants.

Bill to regulate IVF clinics passed in Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha passed the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020, that proposes the
establishment of a national registry and registration authority for all clinics and medical professionals
serving in the field. The Bill seeks to regulate and supervise Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)
clinics and ART banks, prevent misuse, adopt safe and ethical practice and so on.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, while moving the Bill for passage, said several suggestions of
the Standing Committee have been considered by the Government to improve the legislation.
 Daily Current Affairs
forstands
GST revenue collection in November app_20201213
at Rs 1,31,526 crore, second-highest since 2017

Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collections in November (for sales in October) rose 25.3
per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,31,526 crore. This is the second highest revenue collection under GST
ever since its rollout in July 2017, and has two specific triggers: a pickup in economic activity alongside
multiple compliance measures and increased surveillance undertaken by the tax authorities. These
compliance measures include auto-population of returns, blocking of e-way bills and passing of input
tax credit for non-filers taken by tax authorities for curbing evasion.

Gross GST revenue collected in November is Rs 1,31,526 crore, out of which CGST — the tax levied on
intra state supplies of both goods and services by the Central Government — is Rs 23,978 crore, SGST
— the tax levied on intra state supplies of both goods and services by the states — is Rs 31,127 crore,
IGST — tax levied on all inter-state supplies of goods and services — is Rs 66,815 crore (including Rs
32,165 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 9,606 crore (including Rs 653 crore collected
on import of goods).

OECD cuts world growth outlook on Omicron fears

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned that the Omicron
variant threatens the global economic recovery as it lowered the growth outlook for 2021 and
appealed for a swifter roll-out of COVID vaccines. The global economy is now expected to expand by
5.6% this year, down from an earlier forecast of 5.7%, the OECD said in its updated economic outlook
which warns that low vaccination areas could create “breeding grounds” for deadlier virus mutations.
It’s forecast for 2022 remains unchanged at 4.5%.
 Daily Current Affairs
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Exports dip widening trade deficit to a app_20201213
record $23.27 bn

India’s merchandise exports slipped below the $30-billion mark for the first time in eight months in
November to $29.88 billion, even as imports rose sharply, taking the monthly trade deficit to a fresh
high. Imports outpaced exports, jumping 38% from pre-COVID levels compared with the 16% increase
in exports, though they moderated slightly month-on-month to $53.1 billion from $55.4 billion in
October.

The trade deficit widened to a fresh record of $23.27 billion, from $19.9 billion in the previous month.
This is almost 83% higher than the November 2019 levels. The previous highest monthly trade deficit
of $22.6 billion was recorded in September.

Debt-to-GDP ratio of States worrying: RBI

The combined debt-to-GDP ratio of states is expected to remain at 31% by end-March 2022, which is
worryingly higher than the target of 20% to be achieved by 2022-23, according to an RBI report. In
view of the pandemic induced slowdown, in its projections, the 15th Finance Commission expects the
debt-GDP ratio to peak at 33.3% in 2022-23 (in view of the higher deficits in 2020-21, 2021-22 and
2022-23), and gradually decline thereafter to reach 32.5% by 2025-26, RBI said in its ‘State Finances:
A Study of Budgets of 2021-22’ report.
 Daily Current Affairs
Manufacturing PMI signals Nov.for
outputapp_20201213
growth at 9-month high

India’s manufacturing sector recorded the strongest production expansion in nine months in
November, with the survey-based IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)
climbing to 57.6, from October’s 55.9. The November PMI signals the strongest improvement in the
health of the manufacturing sector for 10 months, with factory orders rising for a fifth straight month
and at the fastest pace since February. The long-run PMI average for India is 53.6

India-China trade deficit was $30 bn in April-Sept.

India’s trade deficit with China stood at $30.07 billion during April-September 2021, Parliament was
informed. India’s exports to China during the April-September 2021 period were $12.26 billion, while
imports aggregated to $42.33 billion, according to data given by Minister of State for Commerce and
Industry Anupriya Patel in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

She said the imports from China had increased from $60.41 billion in 2014-15 to $65.21 billion in 2020-
21, exhibiting an increase of 7.94% over six years. However, the imports were static between 2019-20
and 2020-21, she said. Schemes like the production-linked incentive scheme will help promote
domestic manufacturing capacities and attract investments and reduce dependency on imports from
China, the Minister said.
 Daily Current Affairs
forGeorge
World Athletics Awards Anju Bobby app_20201213
As 'Woman Of The Year'

World Athletics has awarded sprinter Anju Bobby George as 'Woman of the Year' after her efforts in
advancing the sport in India as well as inspiring more women to follow in her footsteps made her more
than a worthy recipient of this year's award. George, the former international long jump star from
India is still actively involved in the sport. In 2016 she opened a training academy for young girls, which
has already helped to produce a world U20 medallist.

Olympic champions Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica and Karsten Warholm of Norway were named
the World Athletes of the Year.

Men’s hockey Junior World Cup: Tiwari’s strike puts India in semifinals

India beat a formidable Belgium 1-0 and enter the semifinals of the men’s hockey Junior World Cup at
the Kalinga Stadium. The Indian defence, which had let the team down against France, held tight to
play a significant role in the quarterfinal victory. The midfield, led by ‘Player-of-the-match’ Vishnukant
Singh, and forward line complemented well to complete a fine performance.
 Daily Current Affairs
for app_20201213
Ghosal helps India men edge Pakistan

Saurav Ghosal helped the Indian men’s team defeat Pakistan 2-1 and stay atop Pool A in the Asian
team squash championships. Requiring a win in the third and deciding tie, Ghosal rallied to beat
Tayyab Aslam9-11, 7-11, 11-1, 11-7, 11-8.